Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-02-02

A CASE OF CLEAR GRIT,
WHAT LIEUT.. JouETT AND GUNNER
CARTER ACCOMPLISHED m 1881.
One Of the EARLY Naval Incidents Il
the Wal ~ Related BY . PARTED.
pant-A Night Assault Made Against
Great Odds.
The Santee lay of the harbor at Galveston,
Tex, Nov. z, 1851. Two Confederate vessels,
the Royal Yacht and Gen. Rusk, lay in the
harbor. Lieut.. James E. Jouett, then serv-
ing on the Santee, requested to be placed In
command of q party to 60 and destroy the
two Confederates, and his request was
granted. Accordingly the ships two cutters,
with about forty men, were placed under his
command for the expedition. He was pro-
vided with a twelve-pound howitzer, loaded
shells. with long fuses, to be thrown down
the hatchways, and portdres, dreballs and
slow matches. Lieut.. Jouett took command
of the first cutter, with Gunner Carter twho
is now on sick leave in Washington at the
gun. Lieut.. Mitchell commanded the second
cutter.
The two boats were rowed up the harbor in
the evening in the direction Of the enemy,
who lay some seven miles from the Santec.
Approaching the Gen. Rusk in tho darkness
the first cutter ran ashore, and the second,
close behind, ran into her. Several oars
were broker n enough noise made to raise
an alarm on the Gen. Rusk. This compelled
a retreat, as the Rusk was too powerful to
attack excepting by surprise, and the cutters
headed for the Royal Yacht.
Then came the hail, the rapid orders and
| the miss fire already told, and in q moment
war was in progress. The men clinched their
teeth and rowed as if for life. Carter, whose
first primer had failed him, adjusted another
and fired, placing a shell in the schooner BE-
low the water line.
Almost at the same moment Jouett ave
G00 OIu01s 1Id11O dISs 0GaUO ny bQ6 UO6lUg"
The recoil of the howitzer, however, de-
stroyed the boats Roadway and made it i'm
possible for the party to board. The cutter,
however, was so near the schooner that Mr..
Carter, revolver in hand, made the leap and
found himself alone or the enemy's vessel.
He dropped behind the schooner's bits and
opened fire at once on her crew with his re-
vOlver.
Jouett had taken the tiller and, seeing that
the boat was drifting back, ordered tho oars
out again. As the boat came up again to-
ward tho schooner Bell, the pilot, stood on
the gunwale of the launch swinging the Crap
mel. He was struck by a ball and fell into
Mr.. Jouett's arms. Jouett sprang forward
and at the moment the cOxswain fell mortal
ly wounded.
II can hear his cry now" said the narrator,
"as he said: %, Mr.. Jouett, they are killing
us from the other boat He was right, though
he had been struck by a ball from the
schooner. The other cutter had m~istakensus
for Confederates, and they were firing on us.
We shouted to them, but the noise Of the en-
gagement drowned our voices, and Jouett
ordered all but the four oarsmen who were
pulling to lie down in the boat"
As the boat neared the schooner again
Jouett sprang aboard with the boats painter
and made her fast to the main sheet cavil.
"Now is your timeI Come on board!" he
shouted, and turned to run forward. II
turning he ran against a pike held by q man
who was braced in the cabin hatchway, and
the blade passed through his right arm into
his side. He was dazed, and sat down on the
rail, though, as he afterward said, be was I'M
conscious of his wound. The man holding
the pike gave a powerful thrust to push him
overheard, and Jouett, then first realizing
the situation, threw himself backward.
Then, grasping the pike, still sticking in his
body. he grappled with his a~ssailant. In the
scuff1e the pike was broken and Jouett drew
the blade from his side and, striking his
enemy on the head with it, threw it over
board.
All this happened quickly and in the dark (
ness. Jouett then rushed forward to aid Mr..
Carter and the schooner's crew ran below.
The vessel was in a sinking condition, but he
was determined to capture the crew. The
wound in the hero's arm bled so rapidly that
he once more became dazed, and to recover
his senses struck his head violently against
the schooner's pivot gum. This reused him.
Meantime the forts of the harbor had
opened fire, and several gunboats could be
seen coming down the river. Carter had
sprung to the hatchway, revolver in hand,
and Jouett shouted to the crew below to |
come up and surrender, but not a man came.
men, go down in the hold and drive EN- |
out" he shouted to his own crew, now all on |
board, but none of them went. Maddened at |
this he sprang below himself, and found there
ten armed men. Two of them started to 60 |
up, but suddenly one shouted to our men to
retreat, and all, excepting Carter, ran to the
side, jumped into the boat and showed of.
Jouett, hearing the stampede, pulled down
the two men who were clambering up and
up himself. Leaving Carter to guard
The h~atchway, he rushed after his men,
into the boat himself and ordered the
crew to pull back again. They obeyed, and
Jouett, again leaping aboard, rushed into the
hold the second time. He had just given the
order again to the C%onfederates to 60 on
deck, when some one Of the boats crew
raised the cry "Santee." This was the watch
word for retreat, and the crew made another
Wild rush for the boat.
By this time Jouett's position was desperate,
but he backed up tic hatchway, pointing his
at the heads of the enemy, and
reached the deck once more, only to find that
Carter was again alone.
"Drive those fellows back while l guard tho
latch, said the lieutenant, and Carter ran
o the stern rail. The boat was some fifty
7ards away, and he shouted with blind rage:
back, you towards! Go back and tell
7our shipmates you deserted your officers
Nr. Jouett and l will bring this vessel out
Stung by his bitter reproach tho crew
gain returned to the vessel. Carter then
vent below and drove up all but the captain
nd two men. They ~obstinately refused to
ONE up, and Jouett, threatening them with
shell, lighted a fire ball and threw it below,
Gaping down the hatch after it. They
bought it a shell and sprang quickly to the
eek, where they surrendered. Jouett seized
he schooner's colors, got his party, prisoners
nd all, into the cutter and showed of.
Sitting on the gunwale of his boat, between
captain and mate Of the schooner, with
but a red shirt wrapped around his
myers to staunch the flow of his blood, he
commanded a retreat that TOOK three hours,
hough he could at times hardly speak for